Ulster Troubles 'could be redefined as a war'

The Government could be urged to accept that Northern Ireland's terrorist conflict amounted to a war by the official body looking at the legacy of the Troubles.

The proposal was one of a controversial set of options outlined by Ulster's new Consultative Group on the Past, which has also suggested handing an amnesty to paramilitaries who are prepared to admit to their crimes.

The proposals were greeted with anger from politicians and victims' groups, who objected to redefining the conflict which successive British governments have always treated as a breakdown of law and order....

The body's reasoning would appear to be that if the Government was to say it was a war, it could enable it to grant a form of amnesty to former paramilitaries willing to provide details of their activities as part of a truth-recovery process.